| Kenyon Class of 2002 Fall Class Letter
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Dear classmates,
Hello from the Upper Valley in New Hampshire! Lately, I know it can seem like good news is in short supply. So as I sat down to write this class letter, and started to make a list of the many positive updates I had to share with you, I felt a welcome sense of gratitude for our alma mater. Even during the most challenging of years, Kenyon has remained a bright spot and a point of connection and positivity for its community.
In-person instruction just wrapped up for the approximately 950 first-years, sophomores and international students who studied on campus this fall, numbers intentionally kept low so no one would share a room. (Yes, it took a pandemic for a freshman to score a North Campus Apartment for one.) The College developed clear COVID-related policies and protocols that included regular testing for those on campus and the implementation of the “Kenyon College Commitment,” a personal pledge developed in cooperation with the student council that emphasized the well-being of the entire community. Life on campus looked a bit different as Kenyon adapted its many facilities to ensure safe access to dining, athletics, research and more.
In addition to adaptations for on-campus instruction, juniors, seniors, and members of the faculty discovered new ways to learn and teach remotely. (Yes, it took a pandemic to make sweatpants acceptable classroom attire for even the professors.) Be sure to check out our new faculty notes section to hear how your favorite faculty members dealt with the shift to Zoom classes, virtual office hours, and online assignments.
Our alumni community has shifted to meet the challenges of 2020 with an equal degree of innovation — organizing and attending virtual events, connecting with current students and new graduates as volunteer mentors, and giving back during June’s record-breaking online giving challenge, Kenyon Together. And, though it was heartbreaking to see Reunion Weekend 2020 postponed, we’ve shifted our focus to Reunion Weekend 2021. Planning is underway and, if conditions allow, it could be the biggest alumni gathering in Kenyon history! (We’ll be sharing more details in the months to come, as all alumni will be invited back for the festivities.)
Yes, great things are happening at Kenyon and that is why I support it annually with a gift to the Kenyon Fund — to keep the good news coming. I give to bolster the student emergency assistance fund, which helped dozens of students get home when the spring semester unexpectedly went virtual. I give to make it possible for the College to award more in financial aid this year, when many families’ budgets are strained. And I give to help fund new scholarships like the Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship and the Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students, which was announced just last month along with the renaming of the Kenyon Athletic Center to honor Emeritus Trustee William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99. Don’t miss the insert included with your fall class letter for full details on this exciting piece of Kenyon news!
During challenging times like these, alumni support is more critical than ever. While I am aware that your financial situation may be uncertain, please consider joining me in making your gift to the Kenyon Fund at gift.kenyon.edu to ensure good things continue to happen on the Hill this year, and in the years to come.
Thank you and stay well!
Sincerely,
Sandy Bryant
P.S. Scroll down to read our fall class notes.
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| Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship
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William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99 was the first Black student in the nation initiated into Beta Theta Pi, was student body president and captained the football, basketball and baseball teams. He went on to serve in many volunteer roles at Kenyon, including as trustee. In honor of Bill’s accomplishments and impact at Kenyon, the Board of Trustees decided to rename the Kenyon Athletic Center in his honor.
Recognizing his legacy, Board Vice Chair Joseph E. Lipscomb ’87 has created an endowed scholarship in Bill’s name to help bring more underrepresented students to Kenyon. Anyone can make a gift to the annual fund portion of this scholarship, or one of many other scholarships at Kenyon, and provide an immediate benefit to a current student.
Support currents students now with a gift to scholarships
Despite a challenging year, the College remains committed to continuing to meet 100% of students’ increased demonstrated need, with donor support. Every dollar you give goes directly to support students this academic year.
Consider giving today in support of:
- Hannah More Scholarship for first generation students
- Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship for female students
- Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students
- Pope Memorial Annual Scholarship for students from urban Ohio public school
And, of course, you can make a gift to the Kenyon Fund’s scholarships and financial aid designation, which supports the education of every single Kenyon student.
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| Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni
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You're invited to join us this winter at these free events for alumni.
- Alumni Town Halls with President Decatur
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. ET and Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET
- Five-week mini class with Professor Emerita Pam Jensen
"Democracy & Education: An Introduction to Rousseau's Emile"
Tuesdays, Jan. 5 – Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET
- A Celebration of Kenyon Green Initiatives (two-part series)
Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET
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Class AgentsClass agents are your connection to campus. If you would like to learn more about becoming a class agent, contact Terry Dunnavant at dunnavantt@kenyon.edu.
• Patrick Abel
• Sandy Bryant
• Kris Cheney
• Mary Hill
• Densil Porteous
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Dana Whitley: The pandemic has been great for working on some genealogy research. I also took an online course in positive psychology. I'm amazed by the research and advancements in this field.
Stephanie Hoffman (Spaulding): South Florida in quarantine has been no fun indeed. I've spent the time since March inside the air conditioning with my two kids and dogs, using more internet bandwidth than I thought possible. Early in the spring, we enjoyed midnight bike rides down nearly deserted streets. Now, the family is getting ready to run in a virtual 5k I organized for the local women lawyers association. My wish is that soon we will no longer be living in interesting times.
Jen Huang (Moore): Jen and her partner Felix are living the pond life just north of Boston with their nutty dog and cat. Felix teaches engineering at Tufts and Jen's poetry will feature in the upcoming issues of Shenandoah and Flock. Kaliis Smith '01 and Collin Davis '07 have given them a warm welcome to MA, but they still miss the Peeps o' Chicago, and don't know how they’ll face another Thanksgiving without Chris Bench '05!
Miriam Walden: I am still teaching English to grades 10-12 at The Hewitt School in Manhattan-- this is my fifth year at the school. My son Alexander (6) enjoys inventing and being outside. Much to our chagrin, we both spend a lot of time on Zoom these days due to remote and blended learning. Speaking of the Zoom, I was glad to see some alumni at the Peeps 50th reunion this spring. We can now say we are of *virtually* moderate significance. Wear a mask and vote in person, everyone!
Cate Koch (Norian): The big news this year is that we welcomed a future freshman class of 2038 Kenyon College Women's Soccer player to the world. She already has sported a purple Kenyon soccer onesie and Kenyon baby socks with a gold head band gifted to her by Maureen Collins '03 and Liz (Twerdahl) Stankus and is ready to join the team.
Hilary Hodge: Hilary Hodge and her husband just moved to Angers in France so if you find yourselves in France after all this covid craziness, you have friends in the Loire Valley.
Renee McNally (Shoaf): Hello from NW Pennsylvania! I am watching the leaves turn while putting in my 10,000 steps a day running between my basement seamstress shop and my kids' rooms where they are remote learning. We've formed a social pod with our family to try to keep complete isolation from making us all crazy, though it's been close a few times. When rolling furloughs keep my husband home we work in the woods preparing a site for a home we'd like to build in about 5 years. So basically we've been hunkered down trying to keep busy and safe.
Marsely Kehoe: I have decided to leave the professoriate behind after years on the job market, and I'm making the switch to the world of research and grants administration. Skills acquired from academia: oodles of cover letters, persuasive pleas for funds (even small amounts), and passive-aggressive email composition, all of which will serve me well as I make this shift. While this was a difficult decision, it's such a relief to be adjacent to instead of caught up in the chaos of this pandemic semester. I'm still at Hope College in West Michigan, but I'm happy to be working remotely. I'm making space now to focus on research (early modern textiles and digital humanities) in my free time, and I'm happy to share that I've received a grant for this work (alongside my research partner Carrie (Moore) Anderson '99) from the Delmas Foundation.
Nora Colburn: I have certainly had an eventful year! Last year, I moved back home to Columbus, Ohio and joined the faculty at OSU Wexner Medical Center in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Clinical Epidemiology. I am so thankful I work with an incredible team during the pandemic. And, in the midst of dealing with COVID, I gave birth to my son, Aiden, in July. I never dreamed that I would be a pregnant ID doctor and epidemiologist during an unprecedented global pandemic! Thankfully, maternity leave has been very quiet and restful!
James Corey: We are excited to be moving to Washington D.C. after 12 years in Ann Arbor. I have accepted a new role as the Assistant Vice President of Development at American University. Now we debate, Maryland vs. Virginia vs. the city. I hope to find lots of Lords and Ladies in the area.
James Greenwood: In May, I successfully defended my dissertation and completed my doctoral program at Boston College, so officially “Dr. Greenwood” now. Also, after nearly 20 years working at various independent schools in New England, I decided to return home to Northeastern Ohio and accepted a position as Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. Enjoying my fourth and final year on the Kenyon College Alumni Council as Past President. As always, please reach out if there’s anything you’d like me to share in representing our class to the College!
Curt Foxx: I have accepted the position of Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Whittier College. The family is well!
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If you missed the chance to share your news for this letter, you can submit a class note at any time via class.letters@kenyon.edu.
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Kenyon is grateful to the following donors for their generous support of the College, including the Kenyon Fund, during the 2019-20 fiscal year. An asterisk (*) indicates a donor is a member of the Henry J. Abraham Society for loyal and consecutive giving. An obelisk (†) indicates an individual who is deceased. Please note that as of July 1, 2019 Kenyon’s annual giving societies have changed. Visit kenyon.edu/societies for more information.
2002
Annual Fund Total: $20,072
Class Participation: 22.05%
Philander Chase Society
Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Charles B. Davidson
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Madeleine B. Courtney-Brooks*
Kenyon Society
Donors of $1 to $2,499
Patrick N. Abel*
Darren M. Bartlett*
Lindsay E. Bartlett*
Sara M. Beddow*
Meheret S. Birru
Claire E. Bohnengel*
Jessica Booth*
Abby G. Brethauer
Alexander S. Bryant*
James W. Carrington*
Margaret A. Cattell
Kristofer D. Cheney*
Caitlin L. Chun-Kennedy*
Elkinsette A. Clinton
Lauren E. Coil-Sherck
Nora E. Colburn*
James T. Corey*
Sarah Daily*
John J. DePowell*
Angela P. Dittmar Gaffney*
Andrew M. Dove*
Sarah A. Eby*
Meredith Edwards Ficks*
Curt N. Foxx
Samuel K. Franklin
Marian L. Frazier*
Katherine E. Godwin
James J. Greenwood*
Lisa M. Gress*
Jeannette Grullon-Fahmy
Neil Hall*
Amanda L. Henninger*
Hilary L. Hodge
Stephanie S. Hoffman*
Caitlin E. Horrocks*
Amelia C. Johnson*
Elizabeth Y. Jordan*
Katherine E. Kapo
Shaun O. Kelly*
Cathleen C. Koch
Annis K. Kukulan*
Matthew E. Lane
Sarah E. Longwell
Peter A. Malanchuk*
Lisa M. Martell
Justin C. Martinich*
Elizabeth P. Martinich*
Seena S. Mathew
Timothy N. McAndrew*
Tracy L. Miller*
Andrew J. Montgomery*
Joshua H. Montgomery*
Tim Murphy
Erin E. O'Neill*
Robert O. Passmore*
Emily H. Peterson
Chad D. Plotke*
Zachary A. Prout*
Melissa A. Romain*
Jeffrey M. Rosenthal*
Brant Russell*
Marta R. Russell*
Robert W. Sale
Erica S. Sandler*
Adam A. Sapp*
Margaret Scavotto
Mary Schmidt Turbeville*
Caroline Secor Masterson*
Karen Shanton
Megan B. Shotwell*
Sarah L. Smith
Cary M. Snyder*
Lauren M. Stancik Rosenthal*
Minna Thayer
Sabina Theodore Breece*
Alison M. Trulock*
Christopher M. Van Nostrand*
Rhoda A. Vandyck
Miriam Ellen Walden
Eamon Z. Walsh
Rebecca Lyn C. Whigham*
Dana L. Whitley*
Meredith A. Wilson Montgomery*
Caleb C. Wilson
George Wharton Mariott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.
Sabina Theodore Breece and James E. Breece IV
Bryn Harris
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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